Our history

Our history

Tifereth Israel began as a small minyan in 1890 on Market Street in the downtown Passaic area, serving Galician immigrants. Over time, the shul grew and adapted with its constituency, welcoming Chasidish, Litvish, Ashkenazic, Sephardic, American and European Jewry as they joined the community. Always, the shul maintained an Orthodox minyan and a Torah perspective. Throughout the triumphs and tribulations of the 20th century, Tifereth Israel remained a faithful beacon of warmth, friendship and acceptance to all those who came to worship within its environs.

In 1927, the shul moved to Madison Street in Passaic to accommodate the burgeoning kehilla. In 1956, Rabbi Solomon Weinberger, alum of Torah Vodaath, was installed as the shul’s Rabbi. Even after retiring in 1998 after 42 years of service, Rabbi Weinberger continued to give a Sunday morning shiur in shul until 2013.

In 1966, the shul moved to its current location at 180 Passaic Avenue in Passaic Park. In 1998, Rabbi Aaron Cohen, RIETS alum and distinguished lecturer at Stern College, succeeded Rabbi Weinberger as Tifereth Israel's Morah D'Asra. The shul’s lower level was renovated in 2005 into the state-of-the-art Chaim Gove Beis Medrash, transforming it into a bustling center of Torah learning in the community. In recognition of the shul’s outstanding achievements and importance to its community, the Orthodox Union honored Tifereth Israel with it annual National Kehillat HaKodesh award in 2006.

In 2017, the main sanctionary of the shul was revitalized with modern, efficient and beautiful updates to better serve the needs of our kehila.